December Be Merry: How to Advent without Losing your Mind by Sterling Jaquith and Cayla Mello​

​2019 Book ReviewsRatings 1–5 †

August 2019To Light a Fire on Earth: Proclaiming the Gospel in a Secular Age by Robert Barron and John L. Allen, Jr. (†††††)

Synopsis: Taken from Apple Book ReviewsAs secularism gains influence and increasing numbers see religion as dull and backward, Robert Barron wants to illuminate how beautiful, intelligent, and relevant the Catholic faith is. He proclaims in vivid language the goodness and truth of the Catholic tradition. Through Barron’s smart, practical, artistic, and theological observations—as well as through personal anecdotes about everything from engaging atheists on YouTube to his days as a young die-hard baseball fan from Chicago--To Light a Fire on the Earth covers prodigious ground. Touching on a wide range of subjects, including Jesus, prayer, science, movies, atheism, the spiritual life, the fate of the Church in modern times, beauty, art, and social media, Barron reveals why the Church matters today and how Catholics can intelligently engage a skeptical world.

Comments from the group’s discussion:

I loved the book. I’m a big fan of Bishop Barron’s and I love the way he starts out with the beauty in the church and he explained why he does it that way. He mentioned that the most murderous dictators were anti-religious. That’s important to keep in mind in today’s society. And he also said that a sure sign that God is alive in you is the JOY you have.

He is a true evangelizer, he kills the non-believers-the “nones”-with kindness, never imposing but always proposing. He also spoke about the sex problem in the Church saying that the ugliness is easy to see so our job is to point out the beauty of the Church and the people who have gone before us who died for what they believed.

I loved his explanation of the Rose window in Notre Dame, Jesus is the center holding everything together, as He should be the center of our lives as well. In talking about the saints, he said a saint can admit he’s a sinner. It’s like looking into a car’s front window when you’re driving into the sun. It’s only in the light of God that you notice your sins.

I had a bias against Bishop Barron when I went into this book because I heard an interview he had with an atheist and thought he was way too soft. He should be stronger, like Billy Graham. Maybe I’ll reconsider after this discussion and finish the book.

He made me fall in love again with the Catholic Church and I am glad he’s not “fire and brimstone”. He finds good in all things.

Quotes: On Prayer: “Take the Time.”On love: “You can never love too much.”Our purpose: “Your life is not about you.”

July 2019The Authority of Women in the Catholic Church by Monica Migliorino Miller (†††)

Synopsis: (taken from Patheos.com)Examining one of the most divisive issues today, The Authority of Women in the Catholic Church explores the role of women in the covenant of salvation. Dr. Monica Migliorino Miller defines authentic feminine authority with the support of Scripture, the writings of the Church Fathers, contemporary theological insights, and historical witnesses to the role of women in the Catholic Church. Exploring the meanings of both authority and sexuality, Miller’s presentation highlights the significance of women and explains how women exemplify the reality of the Church in relation to Christ and the ministerial priesthood. The author engages modern feminist theologies with clarity and precision, articulating a response to the claims of gender irrelevance and more.The Authority of Women in the Catholic Church affirms the dignity of all women, indicates their place within the Church, and explores possibilities for the future.“Can anyone doubt that the defining public conversation of our time is over the meaning of gender? . . .This book is a beautiful beginning to a true conversation.” —Foreword by Scott Hahn

Comments from the group’s discussion:

I got something out of this book, but it was not what I was expecting. It seemed the author used too many redundant words to make her points. It was interesting to learn how certain Bible translations misinterpret the meaning of some words. For instance, when Paul says a woman should veil her hair—it is not meant to be in ‘submission’ but in ‘authority’. Another often misinterpreted Biblical story is Satan going after Eve for the fall, not because she was the weaker sex but because of her female power, the moral force that holds the world together.

This is not my favorite type of book, especially if we want to have a good discussion or talk about how it helped me to grow spiritually or one in which I learn more about the saints of the church. But I did like the author’s comparison of Jesus being the new Adam and Mary the new Eve. And I guess I was not aware that it was Mary who was instrumental in starting Jesus off on His mission at the wedding feast in Cana.

I had a hard time wanting to pick up the book to read when it seemed all she could talk about was the feminist movement and women complaining that they are not allowed to be ordained priests or having positions of power in the church.

I particularly liked the last chapter and the author’s inclusion of many of the Church’s saintly woman and the impact they had in Church history and those who are impacting the Church in this era.

June 2019The Mindful Catholic, Finding God One Moment at a Time by Dr. Gregory Bottaro (††††+)

Synopsis: (taken from Dynamic Catholic):Learn how to quiet your mind so you can live in the present moment, relieve anxiety, and find the peace God wants you to have. In The Mindful Catholic, Catholic psychologist Dr. Greg Bottaro explains how the practice of mindfulness can help us become aware of the present moment—and to accept and process what is happening. Catholic mindfulness is a practical way to trust God more in our lives. It helps bridge the gap between faith and everyday life so we can feel the sense of safety and peace God intends us to have. Following the simple exercises in the book, the reader discovers how mindfulness can help you be more present to everything in your life—from making a trip to the grocery store or relaxing with friends to listening to a homily or meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary. Please note: There has been controversy concerning this book in that it is based on Buddhist roots. To read more go tohttps://www.womenofgrace.com/blog/?p=63319.

Comments from the group’s discussion:

I thought it was a healthy book to read. Mindfulness is coming to know ourselves better. After reading the book I took time to notice little things more. It made me more mindful of more things in my life. I liked it when the author pointed out that Pope Francis even said to parents, “Don’t be afraid to waste time with your children.” It also reminded me that we so often judge ourselves by how we see others instead of how God sees us.

We don’t empty our minds with this but rather mindfulness is waking up to reality, to the sight, sounds, tastes, feelings, smells, and thoughts that are happening in each moment.

I was reminded that “God commands you to pray, but He forbids you to worry.” St. Francis de Sales

I liked how the author told us to tune into the presence of God while we slowly breath in and out and practice the exercises.

I particularly like the Introduction by Peter Kreeft and his words, “…this is not a Buddhist book. It is a Christian and Catholic book. It does not lead you into nothingness or emptiness but into everything—especially into God.”

I particularly liked the quotes by many different saints: “Many people are good at talking but bad at understanding.” St. Teresa of Avila; and so many of his own: “Mercy is at the heart of nonjudgmental awareness.” “Your biggest obstacle to peace is between your ears…”; “when we don’t submit ourselves to God…we don’ allow God to work fully in our souls.”

Quotes:Phil 4:6-7 “Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

May 2019Under the Mantle, Marian Thoughts from a 21st Century Priest by Donald H. Calloway, MIC (††††)

​Synopsis: ​Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, a convert to Catholicism, is a member of the Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. Before his conversion to Catholicism, he was a high school dropout who had been kicked out of a foreign country, institutionalized twice, and thrown in jail multiple times. After his radical conversion he earned a B.A. from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, M.Div. and S.T.B. degrees from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, and an S.T.L. in Mariology from the International Marian Research Institute in Dayton, Ohio. In this book, “Under the Mantle” Fr. Calloway has taken his most widely used talks given over the years and put them into book form in nine chapters. He shares his personal insights on topics including Divine Mercy, the Eucharist, the papacy, the Church, confession, prayer, the cross, masculinity, and femininity. Our Lady is the central thread weaving a tapestry throughout with quotes about Our Lady from saints, blessed, and popes.

Comments from the group’s discussion:

There were many parts I like, in particular his explanation of confession and that Christianity is about healing and elevating the whole human person, and, due to our human necessities, we need to be told that we are forgiven. And I loved the fact that he says it like he sees it—"The Catholic Church is not the manure, but it does have a lot of manure in it… God puts manure on his field so that it can grow and, in its time, produce a rich harvest.”

I thought he had a lot of repetition. I didn’t like his references to Yoga being New Age and anti-Christian and saying, “it’s like saying I’m a Christian but I pray and act like a Hindu.”

I didn’t like all the Marian gems at the end of each chapter—it was too much. But I do have a greater appreciation for the Blessed Mother, and I feel I’ve grown closer to her.

I learned SO much on: homosexuality, the priesthood, marriage, commitment. My favorite quote: “Love is not magic or a feeling and will not endure without communication and a deliberate choice to remain faithful even when it doesn’t “feel” pleasant. This is one of the major problems people face today in trying to live a marriage or a faithful Christian life.”

The book challenged me because I found myself arguing with certain statements he’d make—like the history of chess being a reference to the Catholic Church. Though I did like his explanation of the pope and how tempting it is for some people to desire that high position. So they just “start their own church, earning a theology degree from even the back of a magazine, and rake in a sizable sum of money with their oratorical skill and style”.

I really liked the book including all the Marian gems and all the saints who had such a devotion to Mary. I will go back to this book often for reference.

I didn’t quite agree with the only way to Jesus is through Mary because I have Protestant friends who really love Jesus and do not approach him through Mary. They go right to Jesus. But I did like his comments on men praying the rosery together and how very powerful that is.

​Synopsis: (Cardinal Marc Ouellet on book cover)The “noonday devil: is the demon of acedia, the vice also known as sloth. The word “sloth”, however, can be misleading, for acedia is not laziness; in fact, it can manifest as business or activism. Rather, acedia is a gloomy combination of wariness, sadness, and a lack of purposefulness. It robs a person of his capacity for joy and leaves him feeling empty, or void of meaning. Although its name harkens back to antiquity and the Middle Ages, and seems to have been largely forgotten, acedia is experienced by countless modern people who describe their condition as depression, melancholy, burn-out, or even mid-life crisis. Abbot Nault shows how acedia afflicts persons in all states of life. He details not only the symptoms and effects of acedia but also remedies for it. His direct style makes the reader feel involved and challenged to consider anew what is essential in his existence.

Comments from the group’s discussion:

I thought it read like an academic book and I really had to chew on it to digest most of it. It did, answer a lot of things going on in my life right now. It redefined getting off-tract, which I do a lot, which is a form of acedia, but our everyday activity can be transformed by the Holy Spirit.

It’s not an easy book to read but I did learn a lot—for instance, “Acedia is the most forgotten topic of modern morality; and yet it is the root cause of the greatest crisis in the Church today.” And yet it’s never talked about.

But there are a lot of levels and definitions of acedia. For instance, a person afflicted with acedia is described as a “runaway”, a deserter who flees the spiritual battlefield. It can also manifest itself as temptations to glutton, or an aversion to manual work, or listlessness. And the remedies: tears, prayer, contradiction, (and curiously) meditation on death. It confused me.

I can see that meditating on death brings our focus back to what’s important in life---eternal life.

For certain acedia is the route of most all our struggles. I liked the conclusion the best with the story of the woman at the well. Jesus reveals to her that she thirsts for a different kind of water from the one she came to draw, one that only he can satisfy. And meeting Jesus she is cured of her shame and becomes a missionary and brings others to Jesus through her conversion, for from acedia is born the encounter with Christ.

The first 50 pages were hard to read but fascinating, like stepping back in time to see the forest and the cause of what’s causing the lack of care for our spiritual life. Step by step acedia grows causing the disintegration of the human person. Until the meaning of life disappears and all we’re left with is despair and lack of hope and love. It’s today’s reality when people say, “Who is God to impose morality on me?”

I loved the last chapter on the new evangelization against Acedia. It’s timely for us now.

​Synopsis: (parts taken from Christianbook.com)In Who Does He Say You Are?, Colleen Mitchell shows how twelve women from the New Testament answer this crucial question of identity: "Who does he say you are?" Holding up Mary as the ultimate example of an intimate, transforming union, Mitchell weaves together moving anecdotes of her own search for identity as a Catholic woman along with the accounts of these women of Scripture. Be transformed as chapter by chapter the story of these 12 women of the Bible unfolds as they encountered Jesus. Their stories are really the collective stories of all women as the author pulls a statement of truth about our own identity as women in Christ. In the Prologue the author gives a guide on how to use the book and at the end of each chapter she includes questions the reader can answer, making this book suitable for both group and individual study.

Comments from the group’s discussion:

I liked the book a lot, it was like Lectio Divina—a meditative sort of prayer as I read it. There were parts, however, that she sounded more like a Protestant author and I found her use of “sister” a little too much.

My favorite chapter was on Mary, the Wife of Clopas. Not much more is written on her other than her name and the fact that she was present. How often we are quick to dismiss the value of our presence to someone else—someone in need. I’ve often thought that if’ I can’t DO something I’m useless. Yet her just being present rated her a mention in the Bible.

I wasn’t impressed with the author and thought she repeated herself way too often. I did like the prayers at the end of the chapters though.

I liked the Mary and Martha chapter and just to be content in the Lord—to find joy just to be in His presence.

I thought the questions at the end of each chapter were fabulous because they made me reevaluate myself and where I am in my life. These women each had to step out in faith—I wish I could be that brave, to have the hope that they each had.

I liked the book but I didn’t like her “sister” stuff. I think I need to read more scripture because there were a couple of these women I wasn’t familiar with. I liked how she said that Mary ‘allowed’ God to overshadow her own will. And also in Mary and Martha—it’s not an either/or but rather both. Jesus desires to invite us into a contentment that is not dependent on who we are (we are who we are) but on who he is.

Jesus had a way of making an emotional connection with women, it seems, more so than with men.

Quotes:​“You are a friend of God, a dwelling place for his glory, with a voice to proclaim his praise. You can ask boldly of the Savior because, in him, you are redeemed, restored, and bear no shame."

February 2019The First Society: The Sacrament of Matrimony and the Restoration of the Social Order by Scott Hahn (††††)

Synopsis: (parts taken from the back of the book)Everyone seems to admit that Western Civilization is in trouble, yet no one agrees on what has gone wrong or what to do about it. Scott Hahn (best-selling author of over forty titles) makes the startling claim that our society’s ills and its cures are rooted in whether we reject or accept the divine graces made available through the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. Man, he argues, is social in his very nature, we were created for community. The family, constituted through the Sacrament of Matrimony, is the most basic building block of every society. If we corrupt marriage, we will have a corrupt society. But there is hope….and he explains why marriage is our hope.

Comments from the group’s discussion:

Scott Hahn is a master of information on the Catholic Church and he makes an excellent point on how family and marriage are the foundation of a solid society. However, I think that in our society of relativism it would be a HARD sell. Sure, he has many believers that agree about the destruction of today’s society caused by abortion, same sex marriages and gender choices, but there are plenty of others who are not convinced.

Some chapters where a bit slow, but most of it was very good. There just is no substitute for a man and woman as husband and wife. I don’t think his vision of society could ever come back.

I thought it was very deep! Hahn could have gotten his message over by dumbing-down a bit. He has an important message, however. Solidarity is at the heart of the common good.

I listened to the audio version of the book and really enjoyed listening to him read the book. I found listening made it easy to understand and follow his train of thought, though some of it was tedious.

I liked the book though I thought it a bit deep and thought he was preaching.

I certainly agree that our society has become very narcissistic and that our culture teaches individualistic lessons to our young people. Everything is relative… the taking of innocent lives, stealing, values, morals, honor… is there nothing that is true?

Quotes:“This mutual molding of husband and wife, this determined effort to perfect each other, can in a very real sense…be said to be the chief reason and purpose of matrimony, provided matrimony be looked at not in the restricted sense as instituted for the proper conception and education of the child, but more widely as the blending of life as a whole and the mutual interchange and sharing thereof.” Pius XI

Synopsis: In The Friendship Project, Faehnle and Jaminet explore the cardinal and theological virtues with an eye toward friendship. Focusing on faith, hope, love, prudence, gratitude, loyalty, generosity, and prayerfulness, they help us answer questions such as, “What does it mean to be women of hope, and how does that change our lives and make us more compassionate friends during difficult times?” and “How does prayerfulness teach us how to listen to and talk with both God and our friends, which helps us reach out to those we love?” By employing Church teaching and telling us stories of their own friendships and those from the lives of saints and biblical women they answer these questions and more. The book includes Prayers, discussion questions, and a study guide making this a perfect resource for women’s groups. (parts taken from Ave Maria Press)

Comments from the group’s discussion:

I liked how they tied saints together and told their stories and how they related to different virtues. To me friendship is like family and there is something different when your friend believes in Christ.

I loved this book and noticed while reading the book that our Catholic Women’s book group is a perfect example of what this book demonstrates. It summarizes precisely what we are while sharing friendship and books and helping each other on our paths toward Christ.

Compared to some of our other books this book didn’t grab me. However, it got better as it went along. I liked their idea of uniting my prayer with my daily work. Something I’ll incorporate into my day.

It’s stuff I already know…until the chapter on Prudence, which I need more of and I need more prayerful people in my life.

I like the stories of ordinary people who became saints.

Quotes:"Hope is the greatest gift you can give someone…Hope is a virtue that empowers us, especially when we experience dark times…Hope is the set of wings that carries us to heaven…If we are not willing to bring hope to our friends and learn how to cultivate this virtue in ourselves, we are missing out on what it means to be a Christian friend.”